The tables on the following pages constitutes all logged prefixes of forged, Operation Bernhard,  White Bank of England Five, Ten, Twenty, Fifty and (One hundred) pound banknotes. Dated between:  20th March 1930 & 16th September 1938, with one odd date 24th December 1926.

This is an ongoing research project, prefix/serials are added when reported.

Mahon (branch only 1926), Catterns (not £5's) and Peppiatt signatures were utilised.  Anomalies exist, some banknotes are known to have the wrong signature / date. 

Example:  £50 prefix 42N signed by Peppiatt dated 20 March 1930. Peppiatt did not take office until 1934.

Branch banknotes are known from:  Leeds  -  Manchester  -  Liverpool  -  Birmingham  -  Bristol

Operation Bernhard Banknotes - or Bernhards as they are commonly referred to were produced by approximately 150 'volunteers', who were, in fact, Polish and Jewish prisoners in Block 19 of  Sachsenhausen concentration camp. The Nazis produced vast quantities of counterfeit English white Banknotes, overseen by Staatssckreiner (Chief of Police of  the General Government) Friederich Walter Bernhard Krueger.  The Nazis wanted to undermine the British Economy by air dropping the banknotes over Britain, but, they abandoned this idea in favour of the more subtle approach of buying goods and materials in neutral countries, also by paying their spies and agents - the most notable spy being 'Cicero'.  In 1945 the Nazis tried to hide the evidence of Operation Bernhard in the Enns River, the Traun River and Lake Toplitzsee, the latter is from where some of the banknotes in today's collections were recovered.

The approximate value of the White Five pound forgeries alone was  £1,337,325

£5 Catterns does not exist as a Bernhard. 

ANNULE, FORGED, FALSIFICATION & FAUX  seen on some notes. 

Byatts book  'Promises To Pay' states the Peppiatt  £500  was forged. 

Email   pam@britishnotes.co.uk   or  Phone 0208 641 3224  if you have information

Introduction to Tables

  Example                                           

The table columns are:-           

                            Banknote Prefix :-                                       K  104    

                            Banknote Date  (as on note):-                      19  March  1932

                            The first two digits of the serial :-         67  (67622  examples & scans underlined in tables)

Ongoing research project serials are added when reported any information appreciated

The first two digits of the serial have been logged many times, with four different digits.

IE:- Prefix K 120 17 March 1933   02 seen  (Examples:  02143  02149  02393  02394  02899  02911 etc)

Catterns  £10 Operation Bernhard Banknotes  B229

 #  =  Actual Prefix or Date on genuine banknote in brackets  

Catterns  £20 Operation Bernhard Banknotes  B230 

Catterns  £50  Operation Bernhard Banknotes  B231

 * 50/N 54478     Error also seen misplaced Prefix/Serials  50/N + 44/N on same note 

Contributors:-  On Branch Notes Page

 How to identify a Bernhard?

                                                       Genuine

                                                      Forgery 

 The detail on the forgery is poor under magnification, especially in the eyes.  The engraving is delicate

 on the genuine note and thicker and less detailed on the forgery, robe folds, to right of Spear, hair, etc

   The hook to the bottom right of the medallion has no engraved line going in on the forgery.

    Britannia is wearing a 'round' white earring on the genuine note.